As inspired and creatively enthusiastic as we are,there are times when we can’t be as fully creative as we want to be. Whether you’re a creative pro taking a break after long hours at the drawing board or you’ve got to take time away from your creative life because of school, these things happen and we have to prioritize them over our creativity.

However, have you found when the pencils, paint brushes, graphics tablet or camera are put down, we don’t quite know what to do with ourselves? We’re creatively restless and eager to do anything but relax or what we’re supposed to. So to soothe your creative side while taking a break or trying to focus on other life “to-do’s”, here are a few small ways you can be creative everyday:

Happy Friday!

We’re excited to announce this week’s topic, but first please enjoy the illustration above by Anna Marie Farmer, our Pick of the Week for last week’s topic of PASSION. Thanks to everyone else for participating. We hope it was inspiring!

Let’s be honest, who doesn’t want bigger and better work? Or just more work? Or to make more money doing what you love? Here are some real ways that I’ve been able to successfully grow my art practice.

Sonia is a Melbourne based illustrator whose work features on book covers, editorial and now homewares. Sonia works in traditional and digital media and is also an animator, her sense of colour and pattern, juxtaposed with the characters in her work that seem to come from another time, makes her work unique. She also loves sloths!

UK based artist Linzie Hunter’s typographic illustrations are so fun to look at! Her bright and playful work often has a vintage flair, and she mixes unique type styles with color and pattern to create whimsical pieces from often complicated, text-heavy content.

Maki Naro is a cartoonist, illustrator and blogger for the likes of Popular Science, The Nib and The New York Times. Maki does really clever and engaging explainers on all sorts of scientific concepts, like this fantastic piece for The Nib, Vaccines Work, Here Are the Facts. He has a portal site which will lead you down a rabbit hole of cartoons, blogs, commentary and all around interesting stuff.

Being a creative at times can be hard. Whether you love to scribble, paint, take a picture, shape clay and more all you know is that you’re passionate about what you do. No one said it was going to be an easy path to follow when you started out, taking each day as it came and trying to direct your creativityin so many ways for opportunities to come your way.